Noah Calhoun is a teenager in New Bern, North Carolina, when he meets Allie Nelson. He falls in love with her while she is in town with her family for the tobacco harvest one summer. When Allie leaves, Noah writes to her every day, but she never responds. He leaves New Bern for fourteen years to try to forget about her. When America enters World War II, Noah enlists and spends three years fighting in Europe. Despite the horrors he sees, Noah remains an optimist and a gentle person. After returning from the war, he buys a house and begins the project of restoring it.

Despite his small-town upbringing, Noah loves poetry, art, and culture. He never compromises the things that are important to him. He dates women after Allie but never finds himself interested in anything long-term with any of them. He realizes that he works hard as a distraction. He is constantly in motion, trying to keep Allie out of his thoughts. When she re-enters his life, he falls in love with her again on the second day they spend together.

Decades later, when Allie is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, Noah’s devotion to her reaches a new depth. He spends every day reading their story to her, despite the fact that she rarely remembers who he is.